If you already have your transport and accommodation/food needs sorted, skip straight to the activities section of the article.

How to get to/from Jerez

From Sevilla, it’s just over an hour driving or 1hr20 by train

→ Read the full MexicoCassie guide to day trips from Sevilla

From Cádiz,  it’s a 30 minute drive or 40 minutes by train (in fact, many like to visit Jerez and Cádiz in one day)

→ Read the full MexicoCassie guide to exploring Cádiz province

🚘 Travelling by car

→ Read the full MexicoCassie guide to driving in southern Spain

→ Check out your rental car options with MexicoCassie’s favourite broker, Discover Cars

🅿️ As with most Spanish cities, driving in the historic centre is absolutely not fun. My recommendation is to plan where you’re going to park in advance, and if possible book a spot in advance, or have a backup carpark planned in case the first one is full.

🚌 Travelling by public transport

Bus – check bus timetables and reserve your tickets with Busbud (again, my preferred site for bookings)

Train – check train timetables and reserve tickets with Rail Europe (I always use them for my train bookings across Europe)

Where to stay in Jerez de la Frontera

🏨 MexicoCassie recommended luxury in Jerez: Hotel Casa Palacio María Luisa – a truly beautiful converted palace with stunning rooms, a fabulous pool, and a great location

🏨 MexicoCassie recommended well priced in Jerez: Casa Grande – centrally located with comfortable rooms, a great breakfast and a delightful roof terrace

🗺️ If neither of these appeal, you can use the MexicoCassie interactive accommodation finder to choose something more to your needs.

Where to eat in Jerez de la Frontera

Generally, food in the city is fantastic. These are my top recommendations:

⭐️ Arima Gastrobar – fairly new in town but already incredibly popular (the chef used to work at the Guggenheim)

⭐️ Mesón del Asador – very low key place serving excellent food, very friendly staff

⭐️ Flamenkana – good mix of African/Spanish food, caters to vegetarians and vegans

⭐️ Bar Juanito – great spot, very pretty outdoor seating area

➕ Margarita La Fresca for excellent ice cream, La Dulceria de la Rondeña – traditional candy store

👣 Book a 2 hour food tour of Jerez if you want a local to take you around and introduce you to great food.

🧒🏻 If you’re visiting with kids, use the MexicoCassie guide to Spanish food for kids to find food they’ll actually eat.

What to do in Jerez de la Frontera

Jerez is a wonderful small city to enjoy wandering the narrow streets without worrying too much about getting lost. If you’re able to visit during jacaranda season, or when the orange trees are in bloom/full of fruit, then you’ll absolutely fall in love (just be sure to take your antihistamine in advance if you need it)!

👣 Book your two hour art & history walking tour of Jerez now, or, if you like to shake things up, this Sherlock Holmes themed murder mystery walking tour might be more your style.

Plaza de la Yerba – also very pleasant

Mercado central de abastos – the city’s market, open in the mornings

Museo Arqueológico Municipal de Jerez de la Frontera – a small, well kept museum

➕ Bolsos Patri & Miscelánea – fascinating locally made shoes and other items

Don’t miss the Alcázar

It is thought that the first fortress on this site was built in the 11th century when Jerez was a part of the Taifa of Arcos de la Frontera. In the 12th century the building you visit today was built as the residence and fortress of the Almohad Caliphate. When the Catholics invaded from the north, they too used this as their residence. Apparently this Alcázar is one of the best examples of  Almohad architecture on the whole Iberian Peninsula. 

Be sure to visit the replica apothecary, the Arab baths, Mosque, olive press and of course, the incredible views from the towers.

🎟️ You don’t need to buy tickets in advance (basic ticket is €5 / person, €7 if you go to the Cámara Oscura as well).

Cathedral and other churches

The cathedral is big and impressive and dates from the 17th century. I haven’t been in because I’m not a fan of churches or giving religious buildings my money. It’s worth acknowledging from the outside though.

I personally preferred the Church of San Miguel because it has a cool pointy tower and a carved Gothic facade that I enjoyed examining. It also led to a good chat about Pillars of the Earth, which is a book everyone should read.

🎟️ The cathedral costs €8 / person (€9 if you want to climb the tower) and tickets can be bought on the door.

👣 A tour of both these churches can be bought in advance. This tour includes climbing the cathedral’s bell tower.

Sherry tasting /Bodega tour

Maybe you’ve heard of Jerez specifically because it’s the home of sherry. But did you know it has been for around 3,000 years since the Phoenicians arrived and brought this style of wine production with them?

Truly, sherry is only produced in this region, a small triangle of land between Jerez de la Frontera, Sanlúcar de Barrameda and El Puerto de Santa María. There are around 60 sherry bodegas in this region, 25 of which are in Jerez.

⭐️ You can book tours directly through the bodegas or, if you prefer to be totally looked after as you drink learn about sherry, you can book a tour like this one that pick you up from your hotel in Sevilla, takes you to two sherry bodegas, lets you drink and learn, drink more over a gourmet lunch and then takes you home again.

⭐️ Or, if you’re already in Jerez, this shorter sherry tour comes highly recommended.

I’m not a sherry connoisseur so I did some research. I will add that in Jerez, after some on-the-ground-research, my almost 14 year old decided he was, in fact, a fan of sherry. This wasn’t necessarily what I was expecting, but it’s what we have 😉

The best and most often visited bodegas are:

Bodegas Tio Pepe (owned by the Gonzales Byass Sherry House) – you’ve probably seen the Tio Pepe local all over Spain, including on the Plaza del Sol in Madrid. The sherry made at these bodegas is a dry sherry that is one of the best selling sherry wines in the whole world. Unlike other sherries, it is made with 100% Jerez Superior grapes (only has to be 60% to be classed as sherry).

🏨 There’s actually a Tip Pepe Hotel right next door that looks incredible – it has a roof top pool incredible views and the reviews are great.

Bodegas Emilio Hidalgo – run by the 5th generation of the Hidalgo family. The sherries are of a very high quality, especially the Privilegio 1860, which is considered to be one of the best sherries produced. Only 150 bottles are released a year.

Bodegas Tradicion – the only bodega to produce only the oldest sherries – V.O.S, aged for more than 20 years, V.O.R.S, aged for more than 30 years, and gold and platinum brandies. A tour of these bodegas also includes access to the private gallery where you’ll find works by Goya, Velazquez and Picasso

Visit the Royal Andalusian School of Equestrian Art

Another popular reason to visit Jerez is to see a horse show at the Real Escuela Andaluza del Arte Ecuestre . I have to admit that I haven’t seen a show here. I don’t much like watching animals perform so it hasn’t seemed like a good use of my money or time (although my sister-in-law assures me the horses are well treated).

Performances are every Thursday and then during high season additional days of the week.

Tours are also given of the stables and tack rooms → book here

🎟️ You can book a show plus museum entry → reserve here

🎟️ You can also buy tickets direct on their website but I really struggled; it timed out, and then wouldn’t let me pick seats so I couldn’t actually make a booking.

See a flamenco show

Flamenco does things to me that I never thought possible: it makes me weep, it transports me, it transfixes me. I absolutely adore everything about it, and I highly, highly recommend that everyone take in a flamenco show at some point while in Spain.

→ Read the MexicoCassie guide to flamenco in Sevilla for a basic introduction to flamenco (and a list of amazing flamenco options in Sevilla)

Jerez is considered to be more or less the birthplace of flamenco in general. In fact, the art of flamenco is listed as a UNESCO Immaterial Cultural Heritage of Humanity in Jerez. Three of the great modern names of flamenco in particular come from Jerez: Lola Flores, José Mercé and Moraíto.

📚 In the city you’ll also find the Cátedra de Flamencología y Estudios Folclóricos Andaluces in the Andalusian Flamenco Centre, a library of the history of flamenco.

There are, unsurprisingly, dozens of places you can catch a flamenco performance while in Jerez. The following are just a few options:

Dates to keep in mind if you love flamenco:

Nearby adventures

Read the full MexicoCassie guides to exploring the provinces of Cádiz and Huelva and to taking day trips from Sevilla to help plan your adventures

🚘 Use the MexicoCassie guide to driving in southern Spain as a guide and find your rental car here

→ Visit nearby pueblos blancos such as Vejer de la Frontera and Arcos de la Frontera

→ Check out the gorgeous and ancient city of Cádiz

→ Visit Tarifa, the city on two seas – the Med and the Atlantic, and from where you can also visit Tangiers

→ There’s a weird slice of the UK not far from Jerez: Gibraltar is just two hours away